The court acquitted the parents on Wednesday who were suspected of abusing their newborn daughter. The now seven-year-old girl suffered, among other things, rib fractures, bruises, and a fracture in her shin in the first months of her life.
Father Rowan S. was suspected of inflicting grievous bodily harm, and mother Kim de L. of insufficiently protecting the child.
The court cannot “establish beyond doubt” that the parents abused Hannah because there is no direct evidence, writes news agency ANP. It is therefore not clear what happened to Hannah at the beginning of her life and who did it to her. The judge calls that “a bitter and regrettable conclusion”.
“Nevertheless, it is hoped that this criminal case will put an end to a long period of uncertainty, both for the parents and for the girl,” the court continued.
The father was convicted of threatening his brother-in-law with whom the baby had been placed by youth care. He will receive five days in jail for this. In addition, he must pay compensation of 300 euros.
S. and De L. came into the news in 2018 when they forcibly removed Hannah from her foster mother and kidnapped her to Germany. The girl had been taken into care due to the serious suspicion that she was being abused. S. and De L. were sentenced to prison terms for the kidnapping.
De L. occasionally has contact with her daughter, who lives with a foster family. The ongoing case surrounding her daughter has “destroyed her life,” De L. said during the hearing of the case last month. She blames herself a lot in the kidnapping case. She no longer has contact with father S. It is not known where he is currently.